Get Started

Interested in Joining the SUNY Digital Repository?

Dspace allows us to create communities, sub-communities and collections. For the OLIS version of Dspace we are creating communities for campuses. Campuses may then define sub-communities (e.g. departments) and collections. Collections may fall under communities or sub-communities.

OLIS staff will configure the communities, sub-communities, collections and user accounts to manage content based on information you provide. Configuration settings can be changed at anytime so please don’t feel that it everything has to be perfect at the start.

We have created a spreadsheet file (Getting Started with DSpace.xls) with four tables in it to help gather the required information. There is a table for communities, sub-communities, collections, and user accounts. Please complete as much information as possible. It is not necessary to fill in all entries; let us know what information that you have currently available. You may need to create additional sub-community, collection and user account tables if you intend to have multiple sub-communities or collections.

Minimally, please send along information on:

Name and description of the community (your campus)

Name and description of the sub-community (if needed)

Name and description of the collection

Any logos/graphics appropriate for the collection/community, etc. (if desired)

Name and email addresses for authorized contributors to the collection

Basic information about the content of the collection, approximate number of items, etc.

If you are interested in adding content to the repository, please go to our Support Portal to submit a request.

Adding Content:

The Dspace software includes a web interface which can be used by authorized contributors to add items to the collection one-at-a-time.

In addition, batches of items can be loaded into the repository by OLIS. For this latter approach, you will be asked to provide:

Items to be added to the repository, this can be provided via FTP or DVD.

A spreadsheet that includes the metadata for the collection; each row should represent one item; use the item’s filename (from the data source) as one of the columns (this will be used as the link between the data and the metadata); additional columns should include the fields needed to describe the item.

Dspace uses the Dublin Core metadata scheme. The OLIS can assist in mapping your metadata to this scheme.

Content Types:

The DSpace application can recognize and manage a large number of file format and mime types. Some of the most common formats currently managed within the DSpace environment are PDF, Word, JPEG, MPEG, TIFF files. Although out-of-the-box DSpace only auto-recognizes common file formats, files of any format can be managed by DSpace. DSpace also provides a simple file format registry where you can register any unrecognized format, so that it can be identified in the future.

Documents – Documents that are not licensed under Creative Commons can be added as PDF. Documents that are licensed under Creative Commons can be added as Word, RTF or TXT. Open resources with CC licenses should be in an editable format.

Audio – Audio files can be added in MP3 format, however, DSpace does not provide a audio player.

Video – Due to the large size of video files, such files can not be uploaded to the SDR. Videos can be added to the repository by providing a link to a video stored in YouTube, Vivo, Ensemble, or some other type of streaming service that would allow for viewing immediately after retrieval. Again, DSpace does not provide a player.